Artillery is the god of war. It can not only kill and injure enemies, but also has a great effect on disturbing war horses.
However, the battle between the two armies envisioned by Guo Dajing could not be copied to the battle with Jianlu. The cavalry could fight or retreat, but the mobility and flexibility of the infantry was obviously far from enough.
Setting up a battle formation and waiting for the soldiers or cavalry, or to abandon their horses and come to attack, is obviously a bit wishful thinking.
If infantry has the desire and confidence to take the initiative to attack, it should use long-range artillery and rockets to preemptively confuse the enemy, provide cover for the infantry, and gain a psychological advantage.
In terms of long-range firepower, heavy mortars and rockets can reach a distance of three miles. This is the biggest advantage of the Dongjiang Army, and it is difficult for Jianlu to match it no matter what.
The solid shells of the field artillery can penetrate the Jianlu's ranks at medium and short range and destroy the Jianlu's carriages; the shotgun shells can sweep through the densely charging enemies and contain the Jianlu's impact.
Guo Dajing touched his chin, thinking about how to improve and improve the tactics so that the infantry could proactively challenge the cavalry.
After Mao Chenglu adjusted the deployment of his troops, he returned to Guo Dajing.
The former collaborator was the main force and did not engage in battle with the enemy after entering Jianzhou. Now that he finally had the opportunity to make a contribution, he seemed to be very happy.
"You Xie's defeat of Jianlu can be regarded as a field victory." Guo Dajing turned to look at Mao Chenglu and asked with a smile: "General Mao, what do you think this battle has inspired you?"
Mao Chenglu was also present when the messenger described the report, and he also understood the battle process. It was normal for him to be asked for his personal opinions.
Mao Chenglu didn't think much about it and said: "Small-scale infantry battle formations are obviously more flexible, can be deployed quickly, and are more adaptable to the terrain. In addition, long-distance bombardment is also very important, as it will force the enemy to
If you don’t take action..."
Guo Dajing nodded repeatedly, quite agreeing with Mao Chenglu's summary.
In his mind, what he was always worried about was the cavalry's charge against the infantry formation, rather than the darting back and forth of bows and arrows in front of the formation.
Because of this, after the advent of muskets and bayonets, he struggled for a long time on whether to cancel the spearmen. Even now, he still has the idea of adding spearmen again.
But from the actual combat point of view, if the enemy chooses to charge into the formation, the role of spears and bayonets is almost the same.
War horses are afraid of sharp things and will instinctively avoid them. However, there are many ways to prevent this, such as the simplest, blindfolding the horse.
If the spearmen are reset, it means that the number of musketeers will be reduced and the projected firepower will be weakened. Rather than doing this, it is more cost-effective to let the musketeers shoot twice more to cause damage to the enemy.
"The impact on the war horse should be the roar of the musket, the flames from the muzzle, and the rising white smoke. Moreover, it is the rider, not the horse, who depends on how the war horse behaves."
Guo Dajing's thinking has become clear and he has thrown away his last hesitation.
Mao Chenglu agreed with this and said: "The general believes that if the rider wants the horse to charge forward, there is always a way. If he does not want the horse to hit the horse or the bayonet, he will naturally avoid it."
Guo Dajing let out a sigh of relief. Whether it was a tough collision or riding and shooting back and forth, if he could fight a situation where people were replaced, for the Dongjiang Army, victory would be certain.
As long as the superiority of troops and firepower can be brought into play, and the soldiers have a strong will to fight, no matter how hard the rebels try, they will not be able to escape the fate of defeat.
Looking up into the distance, under the clear sky, thousands of troops were marching forward, which made Guo Dajing's confidence and heroism well up in his chest.
………………
Haizhou.
A pontoon bridge has been built on the Haicheng River and is connected to a sandbar that protrudes into the river. It is protected by a wooden fence from the Dongjiang Army. A small camp has been built here and hundreds of musketeers are stationed there.
Surrounding this somewhat lonely camp are dozens of warships moored or cruising in the river. Although the ships are not very big, it is still possible to place several mortars on them.
The signs of a landing attack became more and more obvious, and the activities of Jianlu became more frequent, but they never dared to launch an attack rashly.
As the situation became tense, Amin had already led his troops to Haizhou. At this time, he and Azig were riding horses to observe the enemy's arrangements.
"There are artillery on board, and there are more on the other side." Azig pointed with his hand and introduced Amin, "It can hit the shore more than a mile away. If our army wants to engage in battle, the losses will be huge."
Amin looked at the river and the other bank. He estimated that the width of the river was only more than a hundred steps. He couldn't help but nodded and said: "The enemy's artillery can indeed hit very far. Fighting near the bank will be detrimental to our army."
After a pause, he continued: "It is also a good arrangement for our army to build a camp on the far bank to curb the enemy's attempt to land and expand."
Azig smiled bitterly and said: "Passive defense is suffocating. Moreover, the enemy setting up a pontoon here may be a plan to attack the east and attack the west. With the advantage of boats, it is really hard to prevent the enemy from landing elsewhere.
.”
Amin blinked his eyes and nodded slightly.
Camps were built along the river for defense, and the captives did not have that many troops.
After focusing on defending the most likely landing place here, we can only rely on the maneuverability of the cavalry, constantly patrolling along the river, trying to obtain the enemy's information as soon as possible, and then dispatch the brigade to intercept.
The confrontation across the river not only contained many of the Jianlu troops, but the Dongjiang Army also took the initiative with the help of its navy and artillery.
Amin glanced at Azige, and the grudge in his heart prevented him from speaking out. Because, in his opinion, Haizhou could be abandoned.
Although after abandoning Haizhou, Liaoyang in the core control area will directly face the enemy's military front, it will also lengthen the enemy's front and increase difficulties for the enemy.
It's not that Amin is so far-sighted, but that he has other thoughts. In terms of the strength of each flag, after the battle of Zhengchao, his Xianglan flag suffered the greatest loss, and Huang Taiji deliberately suppressed it, so it recovered very slowly.
There were successive battles between Nanguan and Zunhua, and the Xianglan flag was transferred again. Now it is almost the weakest flag at the bottom.
Dorgon, Haoge, Barama and Mandahai all have two white, two yellow and two red flags. Although Amin is known as the earliest four Baylors, he falls into the same position as Medali who holds the blue flag.
Strength.
Dorgon also mobilized troops from the Eight Banners and formed two mobile corps. If Amin hadn't commanded one of them, he might have fallen into the position of mere commander.
Huang Taiji, Dai Shan, and Mang Gurtai all fell into the sand and died in the Gyeonggi region of the Ming Dynasty. Amin, who stayed in Shenyang, became the survivor, and he was the oldest Baylor.
It's a pity that in political competitions, strength must still be respected. Amin also knew that with his few troops, even if he became the Khan, he would not be able to command the juniors who hold heavy troops.
Dorgon succeeded to the throne of Khan, and Amin felt that he was stronger than Hauge. After all, the grievances between him and Huang Taiji would inevitably fall on his son Hauge.
"First Evolution"
But it is impossible to say that he is not feeling aggrieved. With such emotions, Amin is inevitably dissatisfied with Dorgon's decision-making.
To say that he opposed purely for the sake of opposition would be unfair to Amin. But when it comes to brains, he really doesn't have much wisdom.
The key is that Amin has never seen the overwhelming bombardment under Zunhua City, hundreds of thousands of rockets exploding one after another in the formation. That kind of power has already had a psychological shadow on Dorgon and others.
In Amin's simple thinking, the enemy's troops in Liaodong are insufficient and their foundation is weak, so they should attack there first. It's such a simple matter.
Isn't it nonsense for the Jianzhou warriors, whose specialty is riding and shooting, to switch to defending the city?
Therefore, even though Amin was ordered to lead his troops to come for reinforcements, he didn't care much about Haizhou's gains and losses. Even if the enemy was about to land in front of him and a battle was about to begin, he wasn't very concerned about it.
"The enemy has the advantage of artillery. After they land on the beach and continue to penetrate deeper, our army will dispatch again, with heavy armored troops and carriages, as well as iron cavalry. We will be sure to defeat the enemy."
Amin said calmly: "At that time, the enemy will be fighting with their backs against the water. Our army rushes to the shore, uses rockets to burn its pontoon bridge, and cuts off its retreat. We can win a great victory."
Azig thought in his mind, why should you teach me such a simple fighting method?
It wasn't enough. Considering Amin's seniority and qualifications, as well as the fact that he led his troops to reinforce him, Azig still managed to smile and praise him again and again.
From Dorgon's letters, Azig knew that the autumn harvest was coming to an end and more troops would soon be mobilized to join the war.
At the same time, Dorgon also instructed him to keep more Han troops and less Banner troops in Haizhou Guard City. If they can defend, they should defend. If they cannot defend, they should try to preserve the effective strength of the Eight Banners and retreat to Anshan and Liaoyang.
It can be seen that the status of Haizhou Acropolis is also changing in Dorgon's eyes, and it does not necessarily have to be defended to the death.
In winter, the Haicheng River froze and the Liaodong rivers froze. The Dongjiang Army lost its naval advantage and the Jianlu cavalry was able to move freely. This was the time to switch from defense to offense.
As for how and where to attack, Dorgon has not made a final decision yet. Because once launched, he must win, even if the result is smaller.
Azig knew this very well. The political significance of a victory was greater than the military significance. The main reason was that the disappointment and centrifugal tendencies of the Mongolian tribes who relied on Hou Jin must be reversed.
If these Mongolian tribes took a firm attitude and spared no effort to support Hou Jin, they would have added tens of thousands of troops, which would have greatly alleviated Hou Jin's dilemma of insufficient troops.
Of course, it is extremely difficult to achieve this goal. Although the Mongolian tribes relied on Hou Jin, their attitudes towards Lin Dan Khan and the Ming Dynasty were still different.
In the past, Jianlu did not forcefully ask the Mongolian tribes to become enemies of the Ming Dynasty, but today is different from the past. Dorgon has realized that it is difficult to reverse the decline with the Manchus alone.
With the pressure of Hu Duntu, Dorgon prepared to show his cards to the Mongolian tribes and choose sides between Hou Jin and Ming Dynasty, either friends or enemies.
Dorgon was not too worried about whether this would force the Mongolian tribes to defect to the Ming Dynasty. Tribes such as Horqin and Haraqin were isolated in the north and had difficulty getting in touch with the Dongjiang Army, let alone support.
On the contrary, these Mongolian tribes are facing a direct threat from the Chahar tribe. Without the help of Hou Jin, they are definitely no match for Hu Duntu.
However, Hu Duntu had been frightened out of his wits by the Jianlu, and Hou Jin only needed to send out five or six thousand fine cavalry, and with the cooperation of the Mongolian tribes, it would be enough to drive him away.
At this time, Dorgon in Shenyang was summoning Jierhalang, Dudu and Turge, who were the commanders of the Second Mobile Corps.
"As soon as winter comes, it's time to launch." Dorgon rarely told the three people about his plan, "First attack the tiger and the rabbit, so that the Mongolian tribes can return to their hearts, and also enable me to get tens of thousands of gold."
The help of men and horses.”
The autumn harvest was almost completed. With the food, Dorgon was confident that he had survived the famine and had survived the most difficult period.
Jirharang pondered for a moment and said with a little worry: "King Khan, our troops are going to Jianzhou to fight the attacking enemies. Is the strength of Liaoshen a little empty?"
Dorgon waved his hand and said: "I have issued an edict. After the autumn harvest, each Niulu will deploy armor and gather in Shenyang. There will be tens of thousands of troops. If Haizhou fails, the troops deployed will be added to those left behind in Shenyang.
, there are almost more than 20,000 troops, all of whom are reinforcing Liaoyang."
After a pause, he added: "I also ordered Azig that Haizhou City can be defended, but cannot be retreated to Anshan and Liaoyang. Preservation of strength is the most important thing."
Du Du nodded and said: "King Khan, don't worry, we will lead our troops to attack and defeat the enemy as quickly as possible, and then return to the army quickly."
Up to now, Dorgon and others still believe that the Dongjiang Army's attack on Jianzhou is a harassment, and the main attack direction is still Haizhou in southern Liaoning.
The messenger sent by Hu Xing'a just arrived yesterday. Combined with the intelligence sent back before, Dorgon and others made a wrong judgment, but they didn't know that Hu Xing'a had been defeated and Hetuala was in danger.
The intelligence coming from Haizhou seemed to indirectly prove their judgment that the Dongjiang Army would launch an offensive soon.
What also misled Dorgon and others was the lack of understanding of the development speed of Dongjiang Town and the miscalculation of the total strength of the Dongjiang Army.
After the Zunhua Battle, the Dongjiang Army was not only quickly replenished, but also expanded an infantry corps, and the number of flying cavalry reached as many as nine thousand.
On the contrary, Jianlu's vitality was severely damaged and he has not recovered yet.
Coupled with the large number of people fleeing and starving to death, as well as the demand for labor during the autumn harvest, the number of soldiers that each Niulu could recruit immediately was very limited.
"A quick victory, and after the threat of Jianzhou is eliminated, we can then join forces to deal with the main force of the Dongjiang Army in southern Liaoning." Dorgon once again decided on the strategy for this launch, "The enemy has nearly 10,000 infantry and cavalry, but they cannot be underestimated.
"
Jirharang and others bowed down to accept the order, resigned, and immediately led eight thousand cavalry out of Shenyang and galloped towards Hetuala.
Dorgon waited for everyone to leave, and then stared at the spread out map for a long time, thinking.
The current situation can be described as serious. Although this year's harvest is good, the impact of the famine has already been caused, and it cannot be undone in a short time.
The foundation of Dongjiang Town in southern Liaoning has been completely solid, at least Dorgon would not dare to launch an attack easily. Liaodong does not seem to have many troops, but if it were to attack, other than useless land, it would not gain much. This chapter has been completed!